Insecure Writers Support Group
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Visit the main page on Alex's blog for the complete signup list!
Struggling here. I’m in a slump, struggling to write anything at all, my direction in life in flux – or at a standstill, depending on how I look at it. I can see light at the end of this cave I’m standing in, but I don’t head toward it. Maybe my motivation has rolled under somebody’s sofa. Would you check under yours for me? I’ll even take the dust bunnies clinging to it.
Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThere is no motivation under the sofa here. Dust bunnies yes. And cat fur. Rather a lot of cat fur.
If you aren't ready to move towards the light yet, perhaps you could revel in the darkness for a bit. More horror. Expertly drawn, and perhaps exorcised that way?
I have been considering more horror, EC...or weaving a quilt out of cat fur. Send me your contribution and I'll dedicate a patch to Jazz and Jewel. ;)
DeleteWow, you surprise me. You strike me as a very 'together' writer. But we all slump. I love your vulnerability, if not the idea of you being stuck in a cave.
ReplyDeleteWhen I can't find inspiration I take in the world around me somehow. Walk, go somewhere different, listen to stranger's conversations. Read out of genre, watch a great movie (something emotive with a message) or play music loud and sit back, and with an empty mind, allow our imagination to bloom and see what images pop up. Write really bad flash fiction, or a poem... make it bad and laugh at it. Copy the first chapter of your favourite novel and make up the second, and see if any new characters step in you might want to further develop.
I'm sure your slump is only short-term fatigue, induced by the hectic recent launch. Take a break, enjoy some peace. X
shahwharton.com
It's all smoke and mirrors, Shah. I'm as neurotic as the next writer. ;) Thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteLOL! Well I looked under the couch, but I only found dust bunnies. BUT guess what I found in my fridge? CHEESE. Here's some for you. (Guaranteed to spark those gears and make life look AWESOME.) ;)
ReplyDeleteCHEESE! I would eat cheese all day long, Crystal, if I could. Thanks for parting with some of your stash. :)
DeleteAwe sorry to hear you are in a slump. We all go through it. I was in one last month and didn't even post much about my writing. Sometimes we just need to hold on when we get to the end of the rope. It will pass.
ReplyDelete*hugs*
Chanzie # Mean Who You Are.
Thanks, Chene! Yes, I have a strangled grip on my rope at the moment. I'm glad you've surfaced from your slump!
DeleteSlumps suck, but they don't last forever.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you need to get out and do something really different? Go someplace new that might inspire you?
Getting out would be a great start, Alex. Now I need to talk myself into exiting my cave long enough to go somewhere... :)
DeleteGive yourself a week, or even until next weekend, to revel in your slump and dust bunnies and all things slumpiness. Then force yourself out of your cave and into the light - someplace. Start small or go big - it really doesn't matter. A walk around the block, or a trip to the mall or an out-of-town visit. But don't stop there. Make yourself do something different once a week - even if it's walking around a different block. Your well is dry, and it's time to fill it up again. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions, Carol. :)
DeleteI think I need something big - like a different country. Or a round the world cruise...yeah, that might do it!
*Gasp* You renamed your blog! Is this something I missed before now?
ReplyDeleteI have an extra can of Red Bull, if you think it might help. And all that's hiding under my sofa is a dog. Wait, no, that's just a giant dust bunny. With foam block eyes. And pointy pencil teeth. And....AHHHHHHHH!!! RUN!!!!
LOL, Loni! You actually made me laugh...as I started running. :)
DeleteI just renamed it a couple of days ago, so that makes you very observant!
Hugses and not the dino kind.
ReplyDeleteAn upswing will come. You must believe. Never surrender, never give up.
You sure you want to look under my couch? My cats shed a lot.
I'm so glad dinos didn't enter into this, Mary! Yes, that's an excellent motto to hang onto...plus I can imagine myself in space as a bonus!
DeleteSorry to hear about the slump, River. I hope it's over soon. I love the new name of your blog. Whenever I go down the rabbit hole, they confuse me with the Mad Hatter. I can't imagine why.
ReplyDeleteHah! I love that image, Ron. :) I hope you have a jaunty top hat to go with your persona...and a tea pot, of course!
DeleteRiver, I always take my top hat with me when I go down the rabbit hole. Where else would I put my pot?
Delete*snicker*
DeleteI don't know what kind of houses those other writers live in. ;) Dust bunnies, for heaven's sake. Under our couch, I found the remote for the DVD player, 3 pens, and one of Hubs' socks. (I captured the dust bunnies last time and turned them loose on the ducks in our backyard.)
ReplyDeleteLove it, Diane! Of course, dust bunnies do breed... ;)
DeleteHey River,
ReplyDeleteSofa, so good. I just looked under my sofa. I have discovered the mystery socks, pens and combs. Yay! :)
Here's what I do. If for some unbelievable reason I find my writing motivation has gone for a stroll, that's when Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar comes to the rescue.
Surreal thinking helps me. Take it easy. Don't put pressure on yourself. Find some positive distractions which will more than likely inspire your writing.
I'm outta' here...........
Gary :)
Hi Gary! Maybe Penny would like a trip across the pond to ghost write for me. As for surreal...I think I live there. ;)
Deletewhat are you looking for? be specific with your answer. or come out of the cave & play for a bit. then when u go back in, it will pop out at you!
ReplyDeleteand thanks for commenting on my bbf blog tour!
That's an interesting question, Tara. Being specific about what I want will need more focused thought than I've been giving it. :)
DeleteI think I've located the mojo you're looking for. I was looking for mine and found yours instead. Come over. I'll keep it warm until you arrive.
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks, Lee! Is it covered in fuzz? I wonder where yours got off to... ;)
DeleteLate to this, as to many things of…late. Sorry, that just happened. (I was cleaning it and it went off?)
ReplyDeleteI know something of this…though not so much of a solution.
Perhaps that old, but oft useful, advice to "write the next line."
Of course, that just causes a song lyric to kick off in the back of my mind…"Why do I find it hard to write the next line?"
Sigh.
Um…I'm not certain I want to check under our sofa. I've gravely concerned there are more than just dust bunnies thereunder.
What I can, perhaps, offer is to sit with you and we can watch the light grow brighter together. That work?
I've been sitting and watching the light grow dimmer, kevin, so perhaps I'll join you for the grow brighter part...as long as I don't have to put my feet in the vicinity of chomping teeth hiding under the sofa... ;)
DeleteWell, we can watch it grow dimmer together also.
DeleteFor then falls the night, and in that darkness hide many fey and fell things that whisper soft, "Come on, let's play!"
That's my kinda playground. :)
DeleteHmmm…Tara's question reminds me of the most terrifying question on Babylon 5…"What do you want?"
ReplyDeleteOne of the characters answers it, seriously (though he didn't know it at the time,) and we're off on the road to Armageddon.
But it's a great question!
I guess I'll avoid answering that question then, Kevin! :)
Delete